Series cover design project report

Series cover design report Ramayana series Vidhushri Ladha Masters Book Design 2014 University of Reading

Taught by Fraser Muggeridge, this project involved designing book covers for a chosen series. Researching series cover design, choosing a particular series and designing a system that could be followed across several titles within the series, were parts of the design process. A set of four book jackets were designed for the Ramayana series written by Ashok K. Banker.

The design process for this project has been documented under the following headings — Discovery 2 Transformation 8 Design and making 25

discovery A visit to the bookstore The discovery phase began with looking around at various book series and their cover designs. A visit to the bookstore helped observe book covers more closely and understand what elements are used to visually connect the various covers in a series. I tried to recollect series with covers that I would have liked to redesign. In the process, I also looked at Indian book covers that I thought could have been made to look more interesting.

2  Series cover design / Ramayana series

These are the covers of some book series that caught my attention at the bookstore. I was observing how illustration, typography and colour, together have been used to impart a visual language to every series.

Discovery  3

Selecting a series Covers of mythological books in India is a category that has a typical style of covers with some new modern designs and illustrations coming in today. One such famous book within the Indian audience is the Ramayana series by Ashok K. Banker. It is described as ‘a modern day adaptation of the epic, Ramayana’ and hence I thought the cover could be made to look more contemporary and reflect the nature of content within. The audience is the youth and the modern time readers, and this opens up the possibility of experimenting with the cover.

The Ramayana series by Ashok K. Banker Banker is best known for his Ramayana Series, a freely imaginative retelling of the ancient Sanskrit epic poem. The eightbook Series was published in 56 countries and 7 languages to considerable critical acclaim. In India, the Series continues to enjoy popularity and sales. It is often credited with being either directly or largely responsible for the current resurgence of interest in mythology. It has been called “supercool” (The Hindu), “a milestone” (India Today) and “a magnificent labor of love” (Outlook) and appeared on most major recommended reading lists during its publication. .

His first book of the Ramayana series, ‘The prince of Ayodhya’ was published in 2003. Since then he has written seven other titles of this series These cover various stageds of the famous Hindu epic, Ramayana. The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with breath-taking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

The titles include: 1 Prince of Ayodhya 2 Siege of Mithila 3 Demons of Chitrakut 4 Armies of Hanuman 5 Bridge of Rama 6 King of Ayodhya 7 Vengeance of Ravana 8 Sons of Sita

Some words that came to my mind while I was reading about this series of books.

4 Series cover design / Ramayana series

Covers of the same series published by Penguin books in both hardback and paperback.

Other variations of covers for the Ramayana series by Ashok K. Banker.

Discovery  5

Existing Trends The next steps involved looking at existing book covers of several versions of the Ramayana as well as other Indian mythological books. Specific trends could be listed while analyzing these covers. The use of patterns and realistic imagery, whether as photographs or illustrations, is a common element in the covers of such books. Some of the modern mythological books, published in the last five years have adapted to digital illustration that is more abstract rather than the realistic images.

Examples of book covers of various versions of this epic.

6  Series cover design / Ramayana series

A moodboard of various images that I drew inspiration from for visuals and ideas. These patterns, borders and several illustrations of Lord Rama.

Discovery  7

transformation Design sketches The ideation process started with doodles and sketches of ideas and key words that came to my mind. The next two weeks were dedicated to narrowing design decisions through various presentations and feedback from Fraser.

Most of my initial ideas aimed towards the use of illustration or lettering or the hand-drawn feel to the cover. The use of either a verse from the book, borders, patterns, illustration of characters, use of decorative type and die cut for the title were some intuitive approaches that I thought of while I researched on the content of these books. I started with the first four titles of the series.

Sketches from the first week.

8  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Sketches showing ideas developed in the following weeks.

Transformation 9

Stage 1 For my first presentation I had the sketches along with one idea that I had taken further and illustrated. The idea here was to depict a main character from the book and have a distinct colour scheme and line drawing illustration constant across the series. Both Fraser and David Pearson appreciated the illustration style used. The research was also in place. Fraser suggested going bolder, considering borders and making covers more ornamental. The type had to be yet looked at with detail. He also suggested that having the same colour throughout the series and having elements placed in the same place make the covers monotonous.

ASHOK K. BANKER

ASHOK K. BANKER

KING OF AYODHYA

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA

10  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Stage 2 For the second week, I drew more thumbnails, explored illustration styles and debated on what best suits the content within each book. By now, I had made one decision, I was going to hand-draw the illustrations for these covers. I presented various approaches in the next presentation. I also tried the use of different materials like watercolour, ink and brush, die cut, etching and pen drawing.

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

TULIKA PRESS

TULIKA PRESS

ARMIES OF HANUMAN

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

ARMIES OF HANUMAN Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

ARMIES OF HANUMAN Ashok K. Banker

TULIKA PRESS

Option 1 With this option I worked with large forms of objects or elements that related to the story within each title. The idea was to generate a background for the title of the book. The illustration style added to the options looking ornamental.

Transformation 11

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

TULIKA PRESS

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

TULIKA PRESS

Option 2 This alternative explored the use of borders. Picking up elements from each title and creating ornamental borders to surround the text. I looked at examples of borders to draw inspiration from. In the process I also ended up picking colours that suited each title. Type was yet getting explored at this stage.

12 Series cover design / Ramayana series

Ashok K. Banker

Prince of Ayodhya

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

ASHOK K. BANKER

ARMIES OF HANUMAN Ashok K. Banker

Armies of Hanuman

ARMIES OF HANUMAN

ASHOK K. BANKER

Ashok K. Banker

Various alternatives made within the same illustration of borders

Transformation 13

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

ARMIES OF HANUMAN Ashok K. Banker

TULIKA PRESS

Ashok K. Banker’s six-book Ramayana series belongs to that rarefied category of books whose contents are as good as, if not better than, the blurbs. Let me tell you that this series is not a straightforward translation of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana [literally meaning “The Travels of Rama”]; it is a imaginative retelling by Banker.

Prince of Ayodhya, the first book in the series, initally deals with the characters in the ruling circle of Ayodhya. Young prince Rama’s life is altered when the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to ask Rama to come with him to his ashram and destroy the rakshasas who hamper the daily activities of the sages and brahmins there. And he and his brother Lakshmana are given the incredible gift of brahman shakti (divine force), and taught how to use dev-astras (divine weapons).

TULIKA PRESS

Option3 Having worked with borders, I next tried creating interesting patterns with similar elements. The use of a sticker or a label was incorporated to this option. It was interesting to observe how the choice of colour palette altered the effect of the illustrations.

14 Series cover design / Ramayana series

Prince of Ayodhya Ashok K. Banker

Prince of Ayodhya

Armies of Hanuman

Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

Demons of Chitrakut Ashok K. Banker

ARMIES OF HANUMAN Ashok K. Banker

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

DEMONS OF CHITRAKUT Ashok K. Banker

PRINCE OF AYODHYA

PRINCE OF AYODHYA Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

DEMONS OF CHITRAKUT Ashok K. Banker

For this option, explorations were made for colour and the use of materials like watercolour and ink.

Transformation 15

16  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Transformation 17

Narrowing on a concept With various directions to discuss, the collective feedback was very helpful. While the colour palette attached to the series was working in each design, the type was still weak and needed further consideration. Fraser suggested I try going off-grid and off-centre with the typography. Out of these 4 basic concepts, two were selected to further refine – one with the patterns and the second with the borders.

BANKER

The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

‘A milestone. Banker krings a magnificent sense of predestination to his task’ — India Today

TULIKA BOOKS

Prince of Ayodhya Ashok K. Banker

BOOK 1

‘Spectacular in scope and vision’ — Enigma

RAMAYANA SERIES

In this first book of the Ramayana, it is predicted Ayodhya, legendary capital of warriors and seers, will soon be a wasteland of ashes and blood. Only Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, can hope to prevent the onslaught of darkness. Is Rama’s courage enough in the final battle to halt the demons’ invasion and save Ayodhya?

www.tulikapress.com

TULIKA

BOOK 6

In this first book of the Ramayana, it is predicted Ayodhya, legendary capital of warriors and seers, will soon be a wasteland of ashes and blood. Only Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, can hope to prevent the onslaught of darkness. Is Rama’s courage enough in the final battle to halt the demons’ invasion and save Ayodhya?

‘Spectacular in scope and vision’ — Enigma

TULIKA BOOKS

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA

ASHOK K. BANKER

‘A milestone. Banker krings a magnificent sense of predestination to his task’ — India Today

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA

The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

www.tulikapress.com

ASHOK K. BANKER TULIKA

18 Series cover design / Ramayana series



‘A milestone. Banker krings a magnificent sense of predestination to his task’ ‘Spectacular in scope and vision’ — Enigma

TULIKA BOOKS

∞

Ashok K. Banker

∞

ASHOK K. BANKER

— India Today

Armies of Hanuman

BOOK 1

In this first book of the Ramayana, it is predicted Ayodhya, legendary capital of warriors and seers, will soon be a wasteland of ashes and blood. Only Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, can hope to prevent the onslaught of darkness. Is Rama’s courage enough in the final battle to halt the demons’ invasion and save Ayodhya?

RAMAYANA SERIES

The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

www.tulikapress.com

TULIKA



BOOK 6 The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

‘A milestone. Banker krings a magnificent sense of predestination to his task’ — India Today

TULIKA BOOKS

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

ASHOK K. BANKER

‘Spectacular in scope and vision’ — Enigma

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA

In this first book of the Ramayana, it is predicted Ayodhya, legendary capital of warriors and seers, will soon be a wasteland of ashes and blood. Only Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, can hope to prevent the onslaught of darkness. Is Rama’s courage enough in the final battle to halt the demons’ invasion and save Ayodhya?

www.tulikapress.com

TULIKA

For the next presentation, I had refined out the selected two options. Not only the cover but the spine and the back had also been worked on this time. During the feedback and discussion I came to a conclusion to go with the option of patterns. However there was lot of refinement and further explorations to be done. The discussion helped to come up with the idea of using circular stickers in place of the colours circle for the title. Somehow the repetition of the same colour palette was taking away the individuality of each illustration.

Hence the colour palette, type and final illustrations were now explored for the chosen concept.

Transformation 19

Typography With the concept and illustration style chosen, it was now important to make the right choice of typeface for the front, back and the spine such that it merges into the illustration rather than contrasting it. Though I was exploring type choices and placements throughout the ideation stage, I spent considerable amount of time working on the type while preparing the final illustrations for the covers.

Stickers The chosen concept included the use of a circular sticker with the title of the book and the author on the front of the book. The task here was the choice of typeface or combination of typefaces which would work in harmony with the illustration around.

Spine The spine is always the tricky bit while designing a jacket.

For this series I aimed for the spines to look as a part of the series but yet have something unique about each of them.

One alternative was to have spines of the constant yellow while the other was to pick out the colour used in the details of each illustration and place it

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

Armies of Hanuman Looking at some covers that use labels.

Right Some of the various explorations with type on the sticker.

Ashok K. Banker

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

20  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

VENGEANCE OF RAVANA • Ashok K. Banker

ARMIES OF HANUMAN

Armies of Hanuman

Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

• Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

•

Armies of Hanuman •

Ashok K. Banker

ARMIES OF HANUMAN



Ashok K. Banker

Armies of Hanuman Ashok K. Banker

Transformation 21

Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

Ashok K. Banker

Siege of Mithila

Siege of Mithila

Siege of Mithila

BOOK 2

BOOK 2

RAMAYANA SERIES

BOOK 2

22 Series cover design / Ramayana series

RAMAYANA SERIES

RAMAYANA SERIES

Some of the explorations done with spines.

t

TULIKA

t

TULIKA

t

ASHOK K. BANKER

ASHOK K. BANKER

ASHOK BANKER

2

Ashok K. Banker Armies of Ramayana

Ashok K. Banker Prince of Ayodhya

Ashok K. Banker

Siege of Mithila

Siege of Mithila

SIEGE OF MITHILA

Ashok K. Banker

ASHOK K. BANKER

Siege Of Mithila

2

ASHOK K. BANKER

2

2 2

2 2

TULIKA

Transformation 23

24  Series cover design / Ramayana series

design and making Final illustrations With a specific direction to proceed in, the next weeks were dedicated to refining the chosen style. I wanted each pattern to depict the main event of the story within. I wanted the cover to introduce the title of the series. Hence once again I started sketching options for patterns and motifs for each of the four titles I was working on. These patterns then got developed after several stages of explorations.

Adding colour With the final illustrations ready, the next step was to add colour to them. As decided earlier, I did not use the same colour palette for all. Instead, I decided to keep one colour, a shade of yellow constant, and vary the other two colours used for each title depending upon the theme of the illustration. The fact that the sticker was going to be gold or yellow also influenced the choice of colour palette. It was important to make sure that the colours of the pattern were such that they allowed the circle to stand out and be highlighted.

Variations of illustration for the same titile.

Background colour A contrasting colour for the details The constant colour

Materials and techniques The idea of a gold label came from the intention of using foil emboss for the title of the book. The task was to use it with the existing illustration. Also, it was tempting to consider several different materials with texture for the cover. The patterns would be enhanced on cloth rather than paper.

A look at several books using cloth covers, bukram, foil embossing, helped develop an idea about the limitations of the technique and also printing on textures paper or cloth.

Colours were adjusted such that the gold label stands out equally on each title.

Design and making 25

Book 1 – Prince of Ayodhya For the first title, ‘The prince of Ayodhya’, the idea was to bring in the essence of the city of Ayodhya. I tried several ways of depicting this keeping in mind the chosen style of illustration.

26 Series cover design / Ramayana series

Book 2 – Siege of Mithila The marriage of the two main characters is the main event that highlights the second title. Hence the concept behind the illustration was to use some repeating motif that signifies wedding and celebration.

Design and making 27

Book 3 – Demons of Chitrakut Chitrakut is the name of the forest. I decided to go literal for the third title, . Forest and demons are the two words I wanted to highlight through the illustration.

28  Series cover design / Ramayana series

The idea for the fourth was quite spontaneous and it evolved as it was one of the titles I did all my explorations for. It talks about the armies of Hanuman, him being the god who has the body of an ape. Hence I decided to work with monkey tails and form an interesting pattern.

Design and making 29

5 inch-

Template of the jacket at the end of the fall semester

Book 4 of the Ramayana Series The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

In this fourth book of the Ramayana, it is predicted Ayodhya, legendary capital of warriors and seers, will soon be a wasteland of ashes and blood.

Only Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, can hope to prevent the onslaught of darkness. Is Rama’s courage enough in the final battle to halt the demons’ invasion and save Ayodhya?

‘A milestone. Banker brings a magnificent sense of predestination to his task’ – India Today­­ ‘Spectacular in scope and vision’ – Enigma

TULIKA BOOKS

www.tulikapress.com

Template at 90 percent scale

Structure for back cover is constant. Particular space is allocated for the illustration. the text box and the bar code.

30 Series cover design / Ramayana series

5 inch-

Ashok K. Banker Armies of Hanuman

8 inches

4

Varying spine width for various titles. Placement of type, number and logo remains the same.

Every illustration bleeds out

Design and making 31

Images from the fall semester submission.

32  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Revisions and improvements I revised the covers after the end of term submission. The feedback called for some typographic changes majorly.

However I relooked at several aspects of the cover including the type, the design and width of the spine and the materials. Firstly, I now felt that the covers worked better as dust jackets rather than paperback covers. The presence of the sticker seems more suitable on a jacket rather than the paperback cover.

Design of the spine On reconsidering I realised that the spine widths of the actual series varies to a great extent and it would be a good exercise to devise a system for the spine such that it can be adapted to varied widths. Also, the spine seemed quite conventional to me at the moment. Nothing on the spine related to the illustrations on the cover. I wanted the spine to reflect the design of the covers in some way. Hence, I decided to add some part of the illustration onto the spines. Presently, the spines had a contrasting colour to the background of the covers. Now that I was making these into jackets I felt that having the same colour on the spines as the background of the illustrations would offer the continuity between the front and the back.

Typography In my design I had used Mrs. Eaves for the stickers and Novel Pro for the spine and the back. However, Novel Pro didn’t seem to be the right choice to go with the nature of these covers. I decided to give it a try and use Mrs. Eaves for the complete cover. I was apprehensive about it working as body type for the back text, but when applied, as the amount of text was limited on the covers, it worked pretty well. Hence, I redesigned the spine and the back cover.

Looking at some more spines for inspiration.

Logo of the publisher Initially I was using a hypothetical logo for the publisher. But that does not help in putting the book into context. Hence I went back to my research and looked at which publishers would publish a book of this category. I decided on using the National Book Trust, India , as the publisher for this series.

Design and making 33

ashok k. banker Prince of Ayodhya

ashok k. banker Siege of Mithila

ashok k. banker Demons of Chitrakut

ashok k. banker Armies of Hanuman

1

2

3

4

The spines after reworking on them.

34  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Paper selection When I submitted this project in the fall semester, I had not considered paper yet. A look at the nature of the illustrations made me realise that the use of a textured paper, like cloth texture would enhance the feel . These illustrations formed patterns, and hence I felt these patterns would look best on cloth. I tried several paper with embossings, like buckram, silkweave and other fabric textures, and analysed their effect on the illustration. I finally chose to print on Colorplan range from G.F.Smith, with the silkweave embossing.

Comparing the textures from three different embossings on the colorplan range of paper.

Adjusting the flaps Once the dummy blocks were ready, I had to make some alterations in the measurements of the jackets such that they turn over the edges smoothly and I wanted the illustration to continue along the edges of the book. Hence some time had to be invested into the final printing and fitting of the jackets.

Design and making 35

Final template

127mm

Book three of the Ramayana The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago. Now, with a breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Ashok K.Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere.

In this third book, Rama has finally thwarted the demonlord Ravana and quelled the demon invasion. He is wedded to the enchanting Sita. But he has been challenged by Parshurama, the axe-wielding Brahmin who has never been defeated. And should he survive this confrontation, a greater crisis awaits him. He must prepare to face fourteen years in exile deep in the heart of the forest in the tiny settlement of Chitrakut, where he will be pitted against the vengeful survivors of Ravana’s rakshasas.

The horizontal guides show the placement of various elements on the spone and the back, that are constant through the series.

‘A milestone. Banker brings a sense of predestination to his task.’

– India Today

Structure for back cover is constant. Particular space is allocated for the illustration. the text box and the bar code.

National Book Trust, India

www.nbt.org.in

Cover size 127mm W x 203mm” H Paper Colorplan silkweave embossing 120gsm Typography Mrs. Eaves used on the sticker, spine and the back.

36 Series cover design / Ramayana series

Illustration The illustration style must be the same. The use of simple pen drawings with certain amount of ornamentation. They key of each illustration is the repetition of an element chosen depict what the particular title talks about. The illustration for the back cover shall be restricted to the space on the left of the text column, which is constant.

127mm

70mm

203mm

Spine The spine has been designed in a way that it can adapt to the varying width of every title within the series. The placement of the various elements remains constant with the illustration on the head varying in every title.

Sticker Gold sticker, 51mm diameter Placement of sticker is different on each cover, relative to the illustration.

Design and making 37

38  Series cover design / Ramayana series

Conclusion This has been one of the most fun projects for me this year.

I re-discovered my love for illustration through this design process. It was an interesting challenge to come up with a design that could be continued through an entire series. I was required to design a system here. Also, since my books were based on the Ramayana, which is an Indian epic, there are several books published in the market and have a typical style of covers attached to them. The challenge was to break away from what I have grown up seeing and try something new to suit the content. The design of spines is something that I started noticing after this project. Overall, this project was a complete package and helped me improve my illustration skills along with the understanding of integrating text with image on a book cover.

Images of the spines, the colour on the backside of the cover and the end papers.

Design and making 39